f 37v
...
ffridaye the xiijth of
November 1607
This daye it is ordered and agreed
vppon that the Towne musitians in Number fower
⸢five⸣ of them shall haue this yeare and so euery
h yeare hereafter each of them a blacke Liuereye Coat: at the Townes
charges And they are to giue there wordes to mr maior &c the one for
the other that if anie one of them shall happen to depart the Towne and leaue the
Companie then to leaue there Liuery in mr maiors handes to theintent it
maye serue for an other that shall come to serue in his place
This daye order is giuen vnto mr Arthur baker to buye the Townes Liueryes and ouer and aboue the last yeres to make prouision for iij Coates more for the Musitians
...
f 39
...
ffridaye the xjth Decenmbris
1607 in thafternoone
This daye the Towne Liueryes were delivered And two Scuttchins of siluer to the musitians The Liuereys at x s. the yard one with thother to be paid at thanuntiation next by the Towne/
These two Scuttchins of siluer with the Townes Armes Namely iii Roases
and H and a tonne wayeth fower onzes and a quartr were delivered
to m william Greene and william Tompson musitians They take vppon them
h seuerally in ffortie shillinges sterling
to see them at all tymes hereafter forthcominge to be delivered to the vse of the corporation
| To five musitians ffor Liuery coates | (blank) |
f 39v (18 December 1607)
...
This daye the wife of
Richard hellyer brought to the howse a child named Iohn Sopp sonn of (blank) Sopp a hattmaker
sometimes dwellinge in this Towne, but now dead in london as s. she sayeth: and the
mother of it dyed of the plague the last visitacion in this Towne/ She
sayeth that she receaued the childe of Goodye Tompson the musitians wife/ She
farther aleadgeth that mr Sherwood Alderman hath in his handes
somme howshold stuffe of the said Soppe, for vj s. debt: Whervppon mr
sherwood is
requested to cause these thinges to be brought to the howse and he to
receaue his monie and the rest of the thinges to be appraised
and sould to the vttmost towardes the mayntenence of the childe:
which he hath promissed to doe, And hervppon the woeman is bidd goe hoame
with the childe, vntill farther conferaunce
...
f 41 (22 January 1607/8)
This daye
Nichollas yewens of waltham brought a litle boye named Nichollas ffryce the sonn of Robert
ffryce porter deceased to the howse which he hath kept euer sithence mr neveys Maioraltye at x d. a weeke./ And
confesseth himselfe well satisfied and now deliuereth vpp the childe into the Townes
hands: Whervuppon the said boye was bounde apprentice in the howse
vnto William Greene the Musitian for vntill he shall
accomplishe the age of xxiiijor yeares/ when is
promissed to haue xx s. with him at thanuntiation next And soe
he is contented
Whervppon he was intreated to keep the childe till our Ladye daye next at x d. a weake and betwene this and that a Master shalbe prouied for him
This daye Iohn Sopp the
sonn of (blank) Sopp late of this Towne ffeltmaker brought to the howse by Richard
hellyer and his wife was deliuered to William greene the musitian
to be bounde with him fo till he shall attaine tothe yeres of xxiiijer
yeares And the said greene is to haue xx s. in monie with him by our Ladye daye next/ whervnto the said
greene consenteth and taketh the childe with him
Mr maior Mr
maior xl bande
Iohn Sopp Richard hellyer
The
child is bound[Footnote: 1608: underlined in MS]
mr Sherwood Nichollas Yewens
Nichollas ffryce This child Iohn Sopp
William
Greene
xxiiij yeres
xx s.
On f 37v the two entries concerning musicians are separated by a horizontal line across the folio. Two of the musicians had already been given their livery coats, presumably William Greene and William Tompson, who appeared to be the leaders of the troupe (see the record of 11 December 1607, in which Greene and Tompson are given two silver scutcheons).
Connor writes of the 'scutchins' on f 39: 'The three roses are of course part of the blazon of the town arms; the H and tun are a reference to Hamtun, a form of the name by which the town was still known at this time' (Southampton Mayor's Book, p 110, n 392). The scutcheons still exist among the corporation plate and a photograph of one appears on the cover of Burch, Minstrels and Players.
The entire entry concerning John Sopp on f 39v has been struck though. According to Connor, the plague referred to must have occurred in 1604 (Southampton Mayor's Book, p 111, n 404).
The first entry on f 41 appears to be in error. It seems likely that Greene was never intended to take Fryce as an apprentice but that the scribe mistook the Fryce case for Sopp's, which follows immediately after, and cancelled the erroneous reference to Greene. Of course it is possible that the council did intend to apprentice Fryce to Greene as well and then changed their minds, so that the reference to Greene was cancelled and the note about finding Fryce a master was added before turning to Sopp's case. The marginal note that assigns the boy to Heravill was almost certainly added at a later date.
Record title: Mayor's Book
Repository: Southampton City Archives
Shelfmark: SC2/1/7
Repository location: Southampton
Although titled 'Mayors Book' on the cover by an eighteenth-century hand, this is in effect the first of the assembly books (City Archives: SC2/1/6, 8–14) that contain minutes of the actions taken by the mayor and council. SC2/1/6 includes a few notes from 1603 to 1608, but contains minutes only from 1608 onward, picking up from the end of this mayor's book. The minutes cover the whole range of actions taken by the council, with the date and council members present indicated for each meeting.
17 October 1606–22 January 1608; English; paper; 42 leaves; 397mm x 145mm; modern pencil foliation; good condition; contemporary paper cover, with title inked on front: 'Mayors Book | 1606,' with '7' added in pencil, probably by same hand that pencilled the City Archives shelfmark lower on front cover, at top of f 1: '1606/ Tempore Iohannis Cornishe | Maioris ville Suthampton | A festo Sancte Michaellis Archi' Anno quarto Regis Iacobi Anglie fraunc' et hibernie et Scotie Quadragesimo/.'